Cracker Barrel’s chief executive Julie Felss Masino is stepping down less than three years after taking the helm, after a rebrand that scrapped the chain’s rustic logo, drew a sharp public rebuke from President Donald Trump and was blamed by critics for a slump in the share price. The Tennessee‑based restaurant group said Masino will leave the job on or around 10 August and remain in an advisory role until October, as veteran restaurateur David Deno steps in as her replacement. Masino’s exit follows a year in which Cracker Barrel unveiled a modernised logo, remodelled some outlets with brighter, minimalist interiors and was quickly accused by right‑wing commentators of going ‘woke’ and abandoning its old‑time Americana roots. The backlash coincided with a fall of roughly 7 per cent in the company’s share price in a single trading day and Cracker Barrel later abandoned the redesign and restored its original logo, even as the board avoided linking her departure directly to the controversy. Rebrand That Ditched the ‘Old Timer’ [snip] Inside some restaurants, vintage trinkets and cluttered walls gave way to brighter lighting and more contemporary décor, part of what the company pitched as an overdue update to its 1960s roadside look. Backlash and Trump’s Intervention The changes prompted an immediate backlash, with conservative commentators and long‑time customers branding the new look ‘woke’, ‘sterile’ and ‘soulless’ and accusing the chain of abandoning its Americana roots. Right‑wing accounts on X and YouTube attacked Masino personally, portraying the rebrand as an elite attempt to sanitise a ‘great American brand’. [snip] Masino later told conservative host Glenn Beck that the episode left her feeling ‘fired by America’, even as Cracker Barrel’s board initially stuck by her and framed the redesign as a misjudged but fixable branding move. Within days of Trump’s intervention, the company announced it would scrap the new logo and restore the original imagery, insisting it was ‘listening’ to its base. [snip] Financial and Branding Fallout When Cracker Barrel unveiled the new logo and brand refresh, shares fell by roughly 7 per cent in a single session, wiping around $90–100 million off the company’s market value. Analysts noted that the backlash came on top of existing pressures on casual dining chains, including softening traffic and higher costs, but the logo controversy quickly became the dominant story. The chain’s retreat reflected both the online reaction and concern about alienating loyal diners who had long seen Cracker Barrel as a bastion of ‘old‑time’ Americana. [snip] Nonetheless, critics on the right routinely point to the share slump, the swift U‑turn and Masino’s short tenure as evidence for the ‘go woke, go broke’ slogan that has been applied to brands from Bud Light to Target and Disney in recent years. We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our “Old Timer” will remain.At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm… pic.twitter.com/C32QMLOeq0— Cracker Barrel (@CrackerBarrel) August 26, 2025 Masino’s Exit and the ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Narrative On 27 July, Cracker Barrel said Masino would step down as chief executive on or around 10 August and remain in an advisory role until October as part of what it called a ‘comprehensive succession planning and search process’. [snip] Conservative outlets have already cast Masino’s exit as the latest chapter in the ‘go woke, go broke’ discussion, arguing that her attempt to modernise the chain misread its customer base and invited a culture‑war storm. More mainstream reports present the episode as a cautionary tale about rebrands in a highly polarised environment, noting how companies increasingly retreat from changes once backlash threatens both reputation and revenue. (*) Full article: https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cracker-barrel-ceo-resigns-woke-rebrand-controversy-1810912 Post navigation Fla.: Illegal alien charged after allegedly running over and killing an 82-year-old woman in grocery store parking lot “How is This Real!?” – Brandon Gill CONFRONTS Smithsonian Director over Her Insane Views
